Stop Portland Incinerator Campaign (SPIC) is planning a mass, family-friendly pre-Christmas action on Saturday, December 5, after the Environment Agency approved 67 more classifications of waste, including end-of-life vehicles, to be burned there.
The incinerator at the port, which would feature an 80-metre chimney near people’s homes and sit alongside globally renowned coastline, was approved by the government despite Dorset Council firmly refusing the plan.
Now the incinerator – said to be on track to be operational by 2030 – looks set to be an even more frightening prospect.
What are Stop Portland Incinerator Campaign saying about it?
Etienne Stott, spokesperson for SPIC, said: “Efforts to stop this incinerator have galvanised the community over several years and our political representatives have steadfastly stood against it.
“And the fact that we are now connected to other groups who are fighting and winning their incinerator battles will strengthen and inspire us.”
“SPIC is appalled, but not surprised, to hear news that the Environment Agency has granted permission for the Portland incinerator to burn industrial waste.
“The EA is clearly not fit for purpose and it should feel ashamed for this betrayal of the community and the dereliction of its stated duty.
“The granting of the permit is no doubt a blow, but we remain calm and resolute in the face of it.
“We know that even with this disgraceful permit to pollute, Powerfuel Portland still has to find investors with millions to invest in a project which the local community have proven to have the will and the organisation to resist at every step of the way.
“While this is merely a piece of paperwork for the Environment Agency and a pet project for the developers, Powerfuel Portland and its cheerleaders, Portland Port and the Langham family, it is a direct threat to future health and livelihoods of thousands of local people.”
To join the action on December 5, meet at the Jubilee Clock on the Esplanade at 10.45am.
Many campaigners point to the irony of siting a waste incinerator in an area that has consistently topped the charts when it comes to recycling.
They say Dorset does not produce enough non-recyclable waste to keep the incinerator at capacity, meaning waste would have to be brought in from other areas, via the one already congested road to Portland.
In any case, Dorset Council says it will not use the Powerfuel Portland incinerator and will continue to use the Bridgwater incinerator in Somerset.
Reading the draft notice, it appears that toxic gases will be released by the plant, including carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon, hydrogen chloride, ammonia and mercury.